Cena Trimalchionis ve Roma Mutfak Tarihindeki Yeri

OpenAlex Turkish

In this study, we examined the novel, Satyricon which was written between 60-66 AD. by Petronius (Arbiter) Niger, who was responsible for the arrangement of the feasts of Emperor Nero. The section titled Cena Trimalchionis between 26-78. paragraphs, which describes an extremely ostentatious and extravagant dinner was also examined in the context of the socio-political realities of the period and the implicit criticism of the author. As the author's name mentioned in an unsuccessful assassination attempt against the emperor he was forced to commite suicide in the year of 66 AD., so the work is considered to have been written and completed at the latest in this year, but the date of publication is unclear. Only 146 paragraphs and some fragments of the novel have reached today, different opinions can be put forward about the length of the whole, but none of these ideas can be considered completely correct due to disconnection and deficiencies. In the 52-paragraph section called Cena Trimalchionis, a dinner with the main characters of the novel is also included, in this narrative, the presentations are showy, the dishes are exaggerated, the characters are ignorant and unappealing. Considering that the main characters get bored of the said dinner and try to escape, it is understood that the main subject of the novel is not based on food and taste. Nevertheless, the creation of an important character like Trimalchio and the introduction of food through this character gives the impression that the author prefers a narrative-intimate narrative with food. As a result of this study, it was understood that Petronius was written in order to criticize the unexamined palate tastes of Cena Trimalchionis of the period afterwards, and in the text, analogies and contrasts were used, and the real and surreal world perceptions were compared through the novel.